Where will Kristin Smart murder trial be moved? Here’s how the process works
Now that a judge has ruled the trial for Paul and Ruben Flores will move out of San Luis Obispo County, the next big question is: Where?
On Wednesday, San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Craig Van Rooyen decided in favor of the defense’s change-of-venue motion, agreeing that the two cannot receive a fair trial here in the Kristin Smart case.
Paul Flores is alleged to have killed Smart after an off-campus Cal Poly party in May 1996. Ruben Flores, Paul Flores’ father, is alleged to have helped hide the body, which has still not been found. The two were arrested in April 2021 — 25 years after Smart’s disappearance.
Van Rooyen said the publicity and saturation of the case in SLO County was overwhelming, and a new trial location was necessary to ensure Paul and Ruben Flores receive a fair trial.
The change of venue will delay the beginning of the trial several months and maybe up to a year. It had been slated to start on April 25.
So where might the trial be moved?
Changes of venue in past SLO County trials
Van Rooyen’s decision makes the Kristin Smart case the fourth SLO County criminal trial to move locations in the past five decades.
Three counties have taken on these trials: Monterey County, Santa Barbara County and Alameda County.
The most recent trial that moved outside of SLO County was the 2001 trial of Rex Krebs.
Krebs was charged with and ultimately convicted of the 1998 murder of 21-year-old Cal Poly student Rachel Newhouse and the 1999 murder of 20-year-old Cuesta College student Aundria Crawford.
The killings were a shock to the SLO County community, which was — and still is — coping with the 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart just two years prior.
Krebs’ change-of-venue motion was initially denied by Superior Court Judge Barry LaBarbera. But his lawyers appealed the decision, and the Court of Appeals in Ventura County reversed the ruling.
Krebs’ trial was moved to Monterey County, where he was found guilty of both killings.
Of the six people involved in the 1979 murder of 10-year-old Tami Carpenter, four also had their trials moved to Monterey County, while the other two had their trials moved to Alameda County.
In that case, Carpenter was set to testify against her alleged molester, William Record, and Record paid Randy Cook, BranDee Sisemore (formerly BranDee Tripp) and Hilton Tripp to prevent her from doing so. The three kidnapped and ultimately murdered the child near Avila Hot Springs.
Tripp and Cook were both convicted of first-degree murder. Record and Sisemore were convicted of second-degree murder. Two of Cook’s brothers, Rick and Jerry Cook, were convicted of intimidating witnesses in the case. Their trials were moved to Alameda County.
Richard Benson’s trial was moved to Santa Barbara County in 1987.
He was convicted of murdering Laura Camargo and three of her four children, Sterling, 23 months, Shawna, 3, and Stephanie, 4, in Nipomo in 1986. He had a history of child molestation convictions.
A SLO County judge moved his trial, according to appellate court documents.
How does a new trial location get chosen?
When it comes to moving a trial outside of the county the crime was committed, courts have to go through the Judicial Council of California, the rule-making arm of California courts.
The council will help identify suitable options for new locations for the trial, and multiple factors are considered.
A suitable court, according to the council, can handle news media, staffing needs and security requirements for the defendant and victims. The court also must have room on its schedule for the trial and consider the extra workload that taking on another county’s trial will add for its staff.
In a previous interview with the Tribune, Jeff Stein, a local criminal defense attorney for more than 40 years and former president of the San Luis Obispo County Bar Association, said courts have to consider costs and logistics when it comes to moving a trial.
The county will have to pay for potential housing and transportation costs for the prosecution, its support staff, the judge and witnesses. Victims and families will also have to travel to the trial if they wish to attend it, so the court has to consider how far is feasible for people to travel.
The court also will have to be able to handle the records filings in the case, and the news media. Parties may also have to rent space to work and prepare for the trial.
The 1987 Benson trial that moved to Santa Barbara County cost $250,000 and lasted two and a half months according to previous Tribune reporting.
The Flores trial could potentially move to any county in California, so it’s hard to say where the case will end up.
Dr. Christine Ruva, a psychologist at the University of Florida who specializes in jury bias, said interest in high-profile cases is lower the farther away you move from the place of the crime, even if it is just one county away.
But the greater the distance, the less exposure potential jurors have to the case, so the likelihood of bias decreases.
The court’s goal when moving a trial is to give the defendants’ a fair and impartial trial while also not placing a undue burden on the receiving court, parties involved in the case, or the victims. The new location should find a balance between these concerns.
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
